Samuel and the Sign
"Samuel and the Sign" is the eighth volume of the ''Animated Stories from the Book of Mormon'', yet it is chronologically the tenth, as it takes place at first in 5 BC, and then on the year that Jesus is born. Plot Two boys named Nephi and Timothy are working when they witness the wicked Giddianhi framing Samuel the Lamanite for stealing from him and the wicked Nephites throwing him out. They report this to Lachoneus. Meanwhile, God sends Samuel back to Zarahemla to preach. Because he is forbidden in the city, he climbs onto the wall and preaches the word of a sign of Jesus' birth. The wicked Nephites shoot Samuel with arrows, as Nephi tries to warn him. However, God protects Samuel from the injury. However, the bad guys try to capture him, but as the boys witness, Samuel jumps down and runs off, never to be seen for the rest of the special. Five years later, the now-grown brothers wait for the sign of Jesus' birth. Giddianhi breaks down their door (much to their anger, especially Nephi's), rips their curtain off their window, and gloats that it is dark, as if Samuel had lied. Nephi tells Giddianhi the sign will come. Giddianhi hopes so for Nephi's sake and threatens to kill every believer the next day as a penalty for "following a false prophet." Nephi assembles the believers and forbids them to lie or fight, but tells them they will pray and believe. One of the men questions the purpose of believing a Lamanite. Nephi says it's because he (Samuel) had told the truth. Soon after, one of the men, Jarom, starts singing about faith ("Like the Sea"). The believers continue singing the same stanza. Meanwhile, the Gadianton robbers get ready to kill the believers ("Fugue"), welcoming a weak and faithless man. The next day, they surround the believers as they are praying. The sun sets, so Giddianhi gloats, "So much for you and your God!" and they start to kill the believers, but the sky gets lit up all over, and they leave. Nephi announces thankfulness for all that God has done, especially that Jesus is born. After the Nativity scene, the song continues, the newest robber is forgiven, and as the believers are still praying, a new star appears. Scripture References Luke 2, Helaman 13-16, 3 Nephi 1-3 Trivia * "Samuel and the Sign" is the only animated story from the Book of Mormon to have more than one song, or to have any of them sung by characters. * It reuses some of the Nativity scene from from "The King Is Born." * It is unknown whether Samuel was the protagonist at the beginning, or Nephi was. * In the original Book of Mormon story, Samuel not only mentioned the signs of Jesus' birth, but those of His death. He doesn't mention that here. Errors * At the beginning, even Nephi is not even a teenager, yet five years later, even his younger brother Timothy has grown up without even going to adolescence first. * In the original Book of Mormon story, the night without darkness was only a sign that Jesus would be born the next day, and it never got dark, and the new star would appear the night after that; yet, in the animated story, the night Jesus would be born, it does get dark at first, but then it lights up like day, and the star appears at the end on the same night. Category:Animated Stories